Kate Mason Rowland
Encyclopedia
Kate Mason Rowland was an American author
, historian
, genealogist, biographer, editor
and historic preservation
ist. Rowland is best known for authoring the biography of her great-great-granduncle, George Mason
, a Founding Father of the United States
. It is widely considered the definitive biography of George Mason. Rowland was also a charter member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
. She later went by the name of "Kate Mason."
and a niece of Stevens Thomson Mason
.
during the American Civil War
. She served as a nurse at Camp Winder Hospital in Richmond
, Virginia
. On 4 April 1865, after the Confederate government abandoned Richmond, Rowland, then a matron at the Marine Hospital (also known as the Naval Hospital), sang “patriotic songs” to hospitalized soldiers. She described the scene in her diary as "overflowing with merriment," in which a casual observer would “hardly realize we were all prisoners” of the Union
. Both of Rowland's brothers, Thomas Rowland (1842–1874) and John Thomson Mason (1844–1901), served in the Confederate States Army.
. Rowland found the moniker "War of the Rebellion" for the American Civil War
unacceptable. She introduced a resolution at a United Daughters of the Confederacy meeting in November 1899 requiring members to "use every influence, as a body and individually, to expel from the literature of the country and from the daily press, the phrase, 'war of the rebellion,' and to have substituted for it the phrase, 'War Between the States.'" Rowland's resolution went further, instructing members to induce the Federal government to use the preferred term.
In addition to the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Rowland was also an active member of the Virginia Historical Society
, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities
, and the Confederate Memorial Literary Society. She was an honorary member of the Woman's Literary Club of Baltimore.
named Rowland one of the 2010 Virginia Women in History
.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, genealogist, biographer, editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
and historic preservation
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
ist. Rowland is best known for authoring the biography of her great-great-granduncle, George Mason
George Mason
George Mason IV was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention...
, a Founding Father of the United States
Founding Fathers of the United States
The Founding Fathers of the United States of America were political leaders and statesmen who participated in the American Revolution by signing the United States Declaration of Independence, taking part in the American Revolutionary War, establishing the United States Constitution, or by some...
. It is widely considered the definitive biography of George Mason. Rowland was also a charter member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
United Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy is a women's heritage association dedicated to honoring the memory of those who served in the military and died in service to the Confederate States of America . UDC began as the National Association of the Daughters of the Confederacy, organized in 1894 by...
. She later went by the name of "Kate Mason."
Early life
Kate Mason Rowland and her twin sister, Elizabeth Moir Mason Rowland (died 1905), were born on 22 June 1840 to Major Isaac S. Rowland and his wife, Catherine Armistead Mason. Rowland was a granddaughter of John Thomson MasonJohn Thomson Mason (1787–1850)
John Thomson Mason was an American lawyer, United States marshal, Secretary of Michigan Territory from 1830 through 1831, land agent, and an important figure in the Texas Revolution.-Early life and education:...
and a niece of Stevens Thomson Mason
Stevens T. Mason
Stevens Thomson Mason , also known as Stevens T. Mason, Tom Mason, The Boy Governor, and lesser known nicknames Young Hotspur and The Stripling, was the territorial governor of the Michigan Territory, and later the first Governor of the state of Michigan. Mason guided the Michigan Territory into...
.
American Civil War
Rowland volunteered for the Confederate States ArmyConfederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. She served as a nurse at Camp Winder Hospital in Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. On 4 April 1865, after the Confederate government abandoned Richmond, Rowland, then a matron at the Marine Hospital (also known as the Naval Hospital), sang “patriotic songs” to hospitalized soldiers. She described the scene in her diary as "overflowing with merriment," in which a casual observer would “hardly realize we were all prisoners” of the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
. Both of Rowland's brothers, Thomas Rowland (1842–1874) and John Thomson Mason (1844–1901), served in the Confederate States Army.
Civic and organizational involvement
Rowland was a charter member of the United Daughters of the ConfederacyUnited Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy is a women's heritage association dedicated to honoring the memory of those who served in the military and died in service to the Confederate States of America . UDC began as the National Association of the Daughters of the Confederacy, organized in 1894 by...
. Rowland found the moniker "War of the Rebellion" for the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
unacceptable. She introduced a resolution at a United Daughters of the Confederacy meeting in November 1899 requiring members to "use every influence, as a body and individually, to expel from the literature of the country and from the daily press, the phrase, 'war of the rebellion,' and to have substituted for it the phrase, 'War Between the States.'" Rowland's resolution went further, instructing members to induce the Federal government to use the preferred term.
In addition to the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Rowland was also an active member of the Virginia Historical Society
Virginia Historical Society
The Virginia Historical Society , founded in 1831 as the Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a major repository, research, and teaching center for Virginia history...
, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities
Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities
Founded in 1889, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities was the United States' first statewide historic preservation group. In 2003 the organization adopted the new name APVA Preservation Virginia to reflect a broader focus on statewide Preservation and in 2009 it shortened...
, and the Confederate Memorial Literary Society. She was an honorary member of the Woman's Literary Club of Baltimore.
Articles
- "The family of George III." Harper's Magazine. September 1880.
- "Robert Carter of Virginia." Magazine of American History. 1893.
- "The fortunes of the Bourbons." Harper's Magazine. January 1895.
- "Gunston Hall, Virginia." "The Olympian Magazine" 1903.
- "Robert Carter of Virginia: A Revolutionary Sketch." Taylor-Trotwood Magazine. September 1910.
- "GENERAL JOHN THOMSON MASON: An Early Friend of Texas." Volume 011, Number 3, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, Page 163 - 198.
Books
- The Virginia Cavaliers. 1886.
- The Life of George Mason, 1725-1792. G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York. 1892.
- The Maryland Delegates to the Albany Congress. Dixie Publishing Company. 1900.
- The Life of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, 1737-1832. Kessinger Publishing, LLC. 2007.
Essays and letters
- "Three Papers Written for and Read on the Third Historical Evening - Richmond, Virginia, Thursday, November 9, 1911." 1911.
- "Letters from Kate Mason Rowland to Robert Alonzo Brock, 1883-1892."
Edited books
- The Poems of Frank O. Ticknor, M.D.. J. B. Lippincott & Co. 1879.
- The Real Lincoln. Everett Waddey Company. 1901.
- The Journal of Julia Le Grand, New Orleans, 1862-1863. Everett Waddey Co. 1911.
Honors and awards
The Library of VirginiaLibrary of Virginia
The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, its archival agency, and the reference library at the seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and is located at 800 East Broad Street, 2 blocks from the Virginia State...
named Rowland one of the 2010 Virginia Women in History
Virginia Women in History
Virginia Women in History is an annual program sponsored by the Library of Virginia that honors eight Virginia women, living and dead, for their contributions to their community, region, state, and nation...
.
External links
- Library of Virginia 2010 Virginia Women in History biography with photograph